


Stories of the Second Self: All for One

by John_Steiner



Series: Alter Idem [192]
Category: The Howling, Urban Fantasy - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:09:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26128567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Steiner/pseuds/John_Steiner
Summary: Jerrod Connor is attacked and knocked out while trying to uncover trolls in the city. He wakes up in a ritual chamber atop a pentacle in the middle of the floor. Brutally tortured and interrogated, Jerrod relies on his werewolf nature to avoid breaking. He'll learn there is strength in Pack Life.
Series: Alter Idem [192]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618813





	Stories of the Second Self: All for One

Everything was fuzzy to Jarrod Connor. Yet again, he was out trying to lure a troll far enough into the city for other people to see it. His own phone video posted online had more deniers than believers, and so he realized he had to take things further.

Out of nowhere came a subtle gust of wind and crack to the back of his head, and Jerrod blacked out. The next sensation he had was of a cold hard floor. Then came a single pair of clops pacing slowly closer.

"Wake up, dog," a male voice demanded.

"Ugh, shit," Jerrod gasped, his vision going from dark to just blurry. "The fuck am I?"

"That doesn't matter," the voice said, "Now look at me."

The tone held so much animosity that Jerrod wouldn't need to be a werewolf to hear the full scope of it. He knew pure raw hatred of his kind was frothing in his direction.

"New-ager prick," Jerrod gritted as he struggled to rise onto his hands and knees. "Picked the wrong goddamn howler to fuck with."

"Heh-heh," the man scoffed, "So you think. Okay, ladies, let's do this."

Five distinct pairs of hooves strode in sync with each other in a line. Jerrod's mind coming out of a fog, he could hear they were light enough to either be women Fae or Luc Fae men.

Their seeming ritualistic marched stopped momentarily, and the Fae in front stopped as the other four spread around in the same pace. Two stopped out to the sides a bit in front of Jerrod, and the last two kept going around behind him.

Glancing under his arm, Jerrod saw their pacing and then looked forward to see the male Cernunnos Fae against the wall of the circular room. He was dressed like he came from a uptown dance club, with that silk shirt and tailored slacks. His watch alone looked more expensive than Jerrod's motorcycle.

Then, Jerrod noticed the huge pentacle with himself in the middle.

"Better not be Gaia cultists," Jerrod warned, too light-headed to stand. "I swear to god I will kill every one of you, douche and bitch alike."

"Change," the Cernunnos man chinned at Jerrod.

Jerrod nodded more to himself, but said aloud, "Alright, fucker. Let's do this. You'll be fuckin' sorry when I done wit'cha dumb ass."

Long practiced at kicking off his shoes, Jerrod let the transformative feeling swell within him. His bodily proportional shifts were well underway when he reached back to the seat of his jeans to open the zipper for his tail. Next, he cinched in his belt, but Jerrod let his already tattered shirt stretch without unbuttoning it.

Then the chanting started. It reminded Jerrod of Enya singing, and then his limbs were all pulled out from under him. Something he couldn't see wrapped around his neck and Jerrod started choking right as his transformation concluded. After that, he floated off the floor.

At first, Jerrod thought he was going to black out again, however, he found himself in the middle of an idyllic forest. Half expecting Snow White or some shit, with the way birds and squirrels were gathering around, Jerrod instead saw the Cernunnos Fae step into the clearing that was bespeckled by golden soft sunlight.

"You've made her very upset with your little hood investigation," the Fae man told Jerrod.

"Her who?" Jerrod spat, unsure why he suddenly felt all tingly instead of beaten and drawn- ready to be quartered, he suspected. "Why the fuck do I care?"

"She is the queen of all magic in this city and the country," the Fae man said, "What do you think you're going to prove? Stop pursuing them. That's her demand."

"Fuck you," Jerrod heatedly blasted, now able to get on his feet and stabbed a clawed lupine finger. "And fuck whoever that bitch is."

"Ladies," the man voiced the one-word cue.

In that instant, Jerrod was again pulled in five directions, and now his body contorted and twitched from electrical shocks. Wanting to yelp, Jerrod forced it into a snapping growl.

"She has such power that the gods themselves bow to her," the Fae man stated, then paused to lean in close and add, "What makes you think you have the right to refuse her?"

"Loosen the holds," Jerrod gurgled, barely able to breathe, yet defiant as ever, "and we'll find out. I'm kinda partial to venison."

Jerrod never was a cannibal and didn't know of any werewolves who were. The three cannibals he encountered during the days of the occupation were dead after running into Jerrod's team.

Though, the Cernunnos douche sure as hell took enough of a moment of pause to back his shit up. He recovered quickly enough and stepped in again. "We're just getting started."

"What's takin' ya, bitch?" Jerrod challenged, "You'll wear your dumb ass out workin' me over. Or maybe your doe squad will get tongue tied and this Hogwarts shit falls apart."

"Hmph," the Fae sneered, "We'll see."

Without warning, Jerrod found himself back in the dark ritual chamber and dropped onto the marbled floor. "Fucker, you'll pay for that one."

"Shit, Jerrod," called an entire different voice.

"The hell's goin' on?" Jerrod huffed, still smarting from the impact.

"It's me, Laura Gomez," she said, and gently put her hands on his still lupine shoulders, and then she asked, "How bad are you hurt?"

"Nothin' worse than BDSM," Jerrod cracked, and his wolf jaws went slack.

"God, even after all that." Laura shook her head with a smirk.

Jerrod noticed the other werewolves, many of them changed, and all wearing BodyGuard devices on both wrists. A few in their anthromorphic form held guns.

"What the hell's going on?" Jerrod asked, looking into Laura's eyes.

"We barely figured out what this place was, when someone reported you being carried here," Laura explained, "We got our people together fast as we could to get down here."

"Where're all the Fae who were here?" Jerrod wondered.

"They must've sensed us coming with some spell or something," Laura offered, herself sounding uncertain. "They sped out of here right as we arrived."

"They wanted me to stop tracking trolls," Jerrod revealed, "Said some woman demanded it but didn't say who."

"We'll talk about that later," Laura soothed, and reached an arm around Jerrod's shoulders to offer help. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah." Jerrod rose unsteadily. "Think so."

"We'll take you to the Akron Community Center and have you checked out there," Laura promised.

Jerrod knew Laura when he and Mark Low were led to the center from a letter Mark got in the mail. Nothing from the front suggested it doubled as a medical clinic, but Jerrod had smelled medical supplies and related things every time he was there.

Aided by Laura, Jerrod walked out the building and into her car. She drove out of the seeming abandoned industrial lot near Silverton with two other cars following behind and one in front.

"Can you change back without hurting yourself?" Laura asked, keeping her eyes on the road. "Medical examination is easier that way."

"It'll suck, but yeah," Jerrod answered, as he started the change.

"We'll have people scouring that place for your stuff and send someone out to retrieve your bike," Laura promised.

Jerrod was less concerned with that than the fact he may well have found the people responsible for killing his brother. But it was nice to see people having his back.


End file.
